Kitchen Tea Parties

The video shown here was shot at a Kitchen Tea Party that was held in Harare, Zimbabwe - where these parties are a structural part of women's celebration of their major life events such as a marriage.

Other celebrations closely related to Kitchen Tea Parties are Baby Showers (for pregnant women), Baby Welcomes (for women with a new baby) and Kitchen Top Ups (for women who want new gadgets for their kitchen and organise parties with other women).

In the modern times, Kitchen Tea Parties have taken a new form by also addressing issues of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS. As a time and place where sexuality can be discussed, they can contribute significantly to HIV and stigma prevention if the information shared is based on better knowledge and presents feasible alternatives for women.

 

What are they?

 
Kitchen Tea Parties are an ongoing modern form of traditional Southern African women's sexual teaching forums. These are all female gatherings used to exchange information on sexual matters, including preventive strategies against Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI's), including HIV and AIDS. 

Traditionally, women used women-only gatherings to support each other on different matters. These included; educating each other on matters of sexual health, sexual and other skills as a married woman in order to maintain an everlasting happy marriage, and how to be a good mother to one's children.

PLEASE NOTE: A critical reflection is necessary for all the messages that are propagated in these forums since some of them are potentially disempowering to women and their sexual health.